Island writer's book makes case for conspiracy in Kennedy assasination

Islander David Kaiser will talk about his new book, "The Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy" tonight at the Jamestown library.

His talk is sure to be of interest to those who want to understand why President Kennedy was murdered on Nov. 22, 1963.

A historian and professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the Naval War College in Newport, Kaiser makes a strong case that Kennedy's assassination was the result of a conspiracy.

Kaiser writes that he has been interested in the Kennedy assassination since the day it happened. He first wrote about the assassination in the Washington Post in 1983 on the 20th anniversary of Kennedy's death.

The passage of the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act in 1992 provided a full release of material that Kaiser said helped him place the event in context.

Kaiser describes the Kennedy assassination as the "greatest mystery of the 20th century."

He said his latest book is a natural progression from his previous book "American Tragedy: Kennedy, Johnson, and the Origins of the Vietnam War." In that earlier book Kaiser concluded that if Kennedy had not been assassinated, the United States would have never become involved in the Vietnam War.

David Kaiser Kaiser said that surprising conclusion led him to want to learn why Kennedy was assassinated.

Kaiser makes a compelling argument that President Kennedy's death is deeply linked to the U.S. continued efforts to overthrow Castro and Bobby Kennedy's campaign as Attorney General to prosecute organized crime.

The conspiracy grew from the CIA networks that involved Mafia connections. When the Mob was cornered it turned to those same networks that led to the gunman Lee Harvey Oswald.

The book is well researched and has been praised in several national reviews.

"The Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy" is published by the Harvard University Press and is Kaiser's third book. Kaiser also writes a blog at www.historyunfolding.com